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Vale has filed an appeal of a recent $36-million judgment against it relating to historic nickel contamination and its effect on Port Colborne property values.

The appeal was filed Tuesday. A hearing has been tentatively scheduled for April, said Eric Gillespie, lawyer for the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against the nickel giant formerly known as Inco.

Vale vice-president of corporate affairs Cory McPhee said the company believes it has solid grounds for appeal.

"The ruling concerns us and it should be concerning to other industry and the broader business community," said McPhee.

"We think it carries with it the potential for precedent and that is very concerning," he said, adding since the matter was before the court he couldn't say much more.

A 96-page verdict was presented to both Vale's lawyers and Gillespie in early July. The decision, rendered by Ontario Superior Court Judge Joseph Henderson, followed an October 2009 trial.

Residents in the class action suit said their property values decreased once it became known in 2000 that Inco had contaminated property while it operated its Port Colborne refinery, which closed in 1984.

In the decision, Henderson divided the award among about 6,500 households, placing them in three groups. If the judgment were to withstand Vale's appeal, then about 200 Rodney St. households would receive $23,000 each for a total of $9 million. Households on the east side of Port Colborne would get $9,000 for a total of $15 million, and on the west side it would be $2,500 per household for $12 million.

Gillespie said Vale had an automatic right to appeal Henderson's decision within 30 days of the judgment.

After a fair amount of discussion between all parties, Gillespie said the case should be before the Court of Appeal at Osgoode Hall in Toronto in April.

"It will probably be heard over multiple days. It was a lengthy trial, and there is a fair amount of ground to cover," he said.

Gillespie said the Court of Appeal can uphold Henderson's decision, vary it or reverse it all together.